Happy National Cheeseburger Day Lard

Douglas LeeSep 18, 2012 2:30 PM

Good Afternoon, Broncos fans! Today is National Cheeseburger Day, so be sure to celebrate with your favorite version of the iconic American food.

A Hamburger Today is marking the occasion by giving away a signed copy of George Motz's Hamburger America. Motz's show Burger Land, which reairs on the Travel Channel next Wednesday and Thursday, is worth checking out.

My favorite version of our national treasure (favorite meal, really) is a rare burger with cheddar at J.G. Melon, along with their crispy cottage fries; the photo below is from my most recent trip there.

J.G. Melon is unfortuntely located on Manhattan's stuffier-than-stuffy Upper East Side, and the service isn't exactly top-shelf. But there's no better burger for my money.

As it happens, Ted Bartlett and I first met in person over Melon burgers, prior to his car burning up.

Here's a review of Melon from renowned burger expert Nick Solares, who also appears on Motz's Burger Land.

As for this great holiday, it will be observed in the Lee household tonight with homemade versions of the cheeseburgers at Shake Shack, which trail only Melon's on my list of personal favorites.

Complementing that recipe is a typically thorough description of the quintessential ingredients of a Shack Burger from J. Kenji López-Alt (nobody researches or tests a recipe better than Kenji).

The CliffsNotes version of it? Use Martin's Potato Rolls, loosely pack your own burgers (never, ever get pre-formed), and make sure there's enough fat in them (20%).

And for the love of Tebow, do not ever cook a burger on a grill - doing so causes that precious fat to drip out of the meat and into your coals, instead of going back into the burger, where it belongs. Smokiness is never worth the loss of fat, juiciness, or flavor.

Ever.

I happen to prefer cheddar to American on a burger, but American does have far superior melting qualities.

Let's hear in the comments about your favorite burger places, and methods of preparation.

But however you choose to enjoy yours, have a great Cheeseburger Day!

Broncos

Sam Monson praises the performances of Von Miller, Elvis Dumervil, Zane Beadles, and J.D. Walton, and he finds troubling that Peyton Manning made as many poor decisions as he did early on last night.

Bill Barnwell correctly points out that John Fox's decision to challenge the 12-men-on-the-field call last night was not a wise one, considering how little there was to gain on it, and especially considering how poor the officiating was, and has been. Also, he says the Broncos should have burnt a timeout prior to the two-minute warning, which is exactly what I was telling TJ and Ted last night.

Although Mike Lombardi sees the same old Peyton in terms of mental acumen, he thinks Peyton's arm strength leaves much to be desired.

Jason Whitlock believes Manning showed last night that he's essentially done challenging defenses downfield, and that Peyton should have signed with the Niners.

Peter King, Sam DeWitt, and Tim Keown have had it with the replacement officials; Keown thinks the players should go on strike until the regular refs are brought back, and he drops the following gem:

And how about $10-million-a-year Goodell, discussing the pension benefit he's attempting to wrest away from the 119 part-time employees, saying, "Yours truly doesn't have that"? Let's all join together in hoping Roger can salt away a few pennies for retirement between now and 2019, when his salary rises to $20 million.

Even owner shill extraordinaire Jason Cole is finally acknowledging how much these replacement guys suck at their new jobs, now that one of the owners is criticizing the officiating himself.

Offal

The guys in Slayer also loved the John Clayton This is SportsCenter commercial.

RIP Steve Sabol, the energetic head of NFL Films, who died today after an 18-month battle with brain cancer, weeks shy of his 70th birthday. Thanks, Steve, for helping so many of us develop our love for the NFL game; NFL Films, Matt Yoder, Sam Page, and Christmas Ape offer tributes.

Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM

Doc offers a look at the Falcons roster in advance of Denver's Week 2 game in Atlanta tonight

Five Guys is probably the best chain burger around here, but the best ones are at local joints or even off of a food truck. We have more than one of those that puts out damn fine vittles. If anyone is planning to visit the Mouse anytime soon, I can point you to some good places to get a good burger.

Posted by Jason Chestnut on 2012-09-19 08:06:43

Ha MississippiMudWalk I'd call the "BBQ" place a strange outpost. The UES (where I first lived in NYC) is stuffy, but it's not entirely exclusive. Especially since so many of the apartments up there are rentals, making it a prime place for sheltered post-college kids like myself to be introduced to the city. But once I realized downtown was where it's at, I got out of dodge.

I never went to Cowboy Bar, no. Until a few years ago, I just watched games with a bunch of my friends, none of whom are Broncos fans. We'd be in those bars that have all the games on, and we'd all be watching different games. Actually, my friends would be more busy talking about their latest conquests, but this was serious football watching time for me, haha.

A group of Broncos fans suddenly popped up at a bar in the first floor of my then-building, where Tebowing was eventually born, so I watched games there for a couple of seasons before we moved and I got DirecTV last year.

That win in KC was one of the more nerve-wracking games I've ever watched, but what a thrill when it was over. Not a great defense in general, but they were great that day.

Posted by Douglas Lee on 2012-09-19 05:47:45

had the single and frankly non plussed.. even the double would not have made it better. IMO

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2012-09-19 01:02:42

Doug, is it a restaurant like the "BBQ" place on 3rd ave just one street away from Melon's thank makes the neighborhood "stuffier than stuffy"?And while we are in the area, did you ever go to "Cowboy Bar"? Was a good place to catch Broncos games- where I watched the win in KC on the way to SB XXXII.

Posted by MississippiMudWalk on 2012-09-19 00:35:17

The Croque burger at Park Burger is pretty awesome as well... Love a fried egg on top.

Posted by OutOfYourElement on 2012-09-18 23:50:46

Great points on grass fed and never freezing. I'd also add that if you can get your meat freshly ground (to order), that makes a huge difference.

Posted by Douglas Lee on 2012-09-18 19:55:37

What's urged ain't got nothing on Lotaburger. Now that is THE BEST green chile cheese burer in the world. I've only seen them in New Mexico though. Good thing I live in Durango :)

Posted by c_style on 2012-09-18 18:52:39

I prefer my burger cooked medium with cheddar cheese and jalapeños. I also go grass-fed beef over corn-fed whenever possible. Grass-fed is the way to go. Another factor for a better burger is if you can go straight from the store to the pan without freezing. Tastes way better if it's never been frozen.

Thanks for the second helping of Lard today Doug.

Posted by c_style on 2012-09-18 18:38:39

Another strategy I told my brother during the game would be for the Broncos going for 2 on their last TD. It would have brought them to 22 points instead of 21. Next, they go for the onsides kick. If they don't get it, they have to stop Atlanta from getting a TD, but if they get into field goal range and kick one, they go to 30. Broncos get the ball back and still have an opportunity to tie the game if they can get a TD and ANOTHER 2 point conversion.

Posted by Rollston Frangopoulos on 2012-09-18 18:17:02

No more Red Top? That is truly tragic! Geez, Steve Sabol and Red Top gone in the same day.

Posted by SteveS on 2012-09-18 18:08:35

See luckily we have just as many Whataburgers as McDonalds here in TX. Only thing I miss from WY/CO is my Taco Johns...

Posted by Chuck Breedlove on 2012-09-18 17:36:24

In Austin, you can have your choice of Mooney's Burgers, Mighty Fine, Hut's Hamburgers, or HopDoddy's Burger Bar...

Mighty Fine is probably my favorite...

Posted by Chuck Breedlove on 2012-09-18 17:12:20

I often have turkey burgers for lunch. No cheese.

But if I'm going to get a cheeseburger, there is a place in Raton called Hamburger Haven that makes very good burgers.

And I'm a sucker for Five Guys burgers, but their fries are even better.

One thing I think every burger fan can agree on is that anything that comes from McDonald's, in a word, sucks.

Posted by Bob on 2012-09-18 17:06:22

My favorite (non-chain) burger joint in Colorado Springs, Conway's Red Top, just went out of business because their business was so good they didn't have time to pay their taxes. My favorite chain burger place, which I think is all we have left in Colorado Springs, would have to be Carl's Jr. It's hard to beat a Six Dollar bacon cheese burger and waffle fries with a large Dr. Pepper. Maybe I'll go there tonight.

Posted by CompUser on 2012-09-18 17:00:16

Great new pub in my neighborhood (West Wash Park) has an awesome burger. Half ground chuck, half braised short rib, packed together and grilled. Served on a toasted bun with thick-cut applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, and Bearnaise sauce.

Finley's Pub. Pearl and Dakota. For best results, order with tater tots.

Posted by The Daily Dickpunch on 2012-09-18 16:53:47

It's good, but get the double. The single was a little off in the BBQ to Burger ratio.

Posted by The Daily Dickpunch on 2012-09-18 16:52:00

Tell me it isn't true. I hear keep hearing rumours of doom in the status of Peyton's arm. We need stats from TJ, medical advice from Doc, and more rumours from Doug. Could he really be just faking it?

Anyone wanting a better than good burger of you ever see a whataburger. Give them a try. Almost as good as Jim's burger haven that used to be in Thornton just north of 104 just a few streets east of I25.

Not sure if it is Thornton anymore as cities grow nor if they are still in business but the whataburger is a good substitute.

But not in all states. Their green chilie cheese burger is kisss from an angel.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2012-09-18 16:00:14

I hope Whitlock is wrong, but this video of Manning in 2009 does show a different QB than we saw last night.

Going to have a Memphis cheese burger on way home from dentist At Carl's junior.

Heard they are great and that will give me my monthly load of cholesterol so I will not have to have another burger for sept.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2012-09-18 15:53:54

No bun for me, I gave up bread and everything else made from grain. But Sunday I had 2 burger patties with swiss, mushroom, and bacon.

Posted by A R on 2012-09-18 15:44:45

WOOT WOOT!

Posted by A R on 2012-09-18 15:43:20

Wow Doug, I'm jealous as you must be much younger than I am - I just can't eat that stuff anymore. And here's to Steve Sabol, a fellow Colorado College football player (he used to put out his own press releases and refer to himself as "Sudden Death Sabol"), who in conjunction with his Dad, made the finest highlights films the sporting world has ever seen. R.I.P.

Posted by SteveS on 2012-09-18 15:43:09

If you are ever in Chico, CA. Try Nobby's. I recommend the Mushroom Jack Burger.

Posted by Ryan Hennigan on 2012-09-18 15:23:10

"The amount of money we're talking about is not worth the embarrassment. This is our product." -- anonymous owner from the Jason Cole article

Posted by DavidInLA on 2012-09-18 15:07:33

So. Hungry. Must eat ground and charred beef with cheese. Holy crap, this afternoon is long. Come on quittin' time. I gotsta get me a good burger. I come for the Broncos news and opinion and stay for the diet busting pictures.

Posted by Jason Chestnut on 2012-09-18 15:04:25

Doug, that was impressive how you were able to include a Tebow reference in your tribute to cheese burgers.